Hello, I have 5 listings. This is a 4 bedroom house. Each room is listed individually, and the entire is house is listed as well. I am open to any and all suggestions as I am new.

[MavEryck0]

Hello,

I would love some constructive criticism to improve my listings.

I feel like some of the things that set my place apart are for one, the entire home was recently renovated. Every guest has commented to me about how clean and nice everything is. 

Also, my short-term rental property is fully licensed and insured as a short-term rental business. I am a lawyer so I made sure to follow all applicable laws for my jurisdiction.

Thanks in advance for any assistance or opinions. 

[Helen3]

Personally I wouldn't try and pack 10 people into a listing which shows there is only seating for four in the dining room and eight in the bedrooms @MavEryck0 

You need to fully equip your listing for the maximum numbers you accept.

Set it for eight people and make sure you have amenities for eight guests.

[MavEryck0]

Hi,

I agree... I was thinking that same thing when the first big group reserved my house for eight. Then another group reserved it for 10 people. I was scrambling to buy enough towels, plates, etc.

The seating issue will be resolved Saturday. I ordered a very large sectional couch to replace the futon.

Thanks

[MavEryck0]

Update:

I bought a sectional couch. With the additional seating, we successfully had my youngest grandson's birthday party at the house on Sunday. 21 adults, 3 teens, and 10 little kids!

Then little kids played soccer in thr backyard. Several of the adults stood around th backyard or talked in thr kitchen area. Everyone else was seated in the living room. 

All of this took place while all four rooms were reserved.  However, all four guests were put and about all day. I did give the guests a head's up about the birthday party and invited them also. 

I was pleasantly surprised that the property accommodated so many people, comfortably.

Good times 

[Kia272]

@MavEryck0 So, let me get this straight. You are not inhabiting the home, it's entirely rented either by the room or the whole house? It's not entirely clear in your listing. If that is the case, I don't recommend that at all. It's a recipe for disaster. 

Aside from that, you should remove references to other unlicensed STRs. First of all, that's a generalization and not based in fact. Second, just reassure guests that your home is licensed, permitted, etc. and leave it at that. I'm not sure why you feel the need to mention that, as long as your home is compliant with local rules and regulations. 

As @Helen3 mentioned, you should reduce the capacity. Many new hosts think that higher capacity is better, but it's not necessarily. 

[MavEryck0]

Hi,

I'm living here at the house when I am in town. I recently went out of thr U.S. for a couple of weeks. Other than that, I've only been leaving when a group reserves the entire house.

I included the information about unlicensed places because of some statistic I ran across regarding unlicensed short-term rentals.

I'll have to go back and find the source of the information...

Thanks

[Rebecca]

Hey @MavEryck0 👋

Did you find any of the advice from @Kia272 and @Helen3 helpful and did you make any changes off the back of it? If so, it would be great if you could mark the best answer - it's like huge thank you to the Hosts for supporting you. 🤗

[MavEryck0]

Hi,

How do I mark the best answer?

[Rebecca]

Oh, fantastic question @MavEryck0 ! At the bottom of each reply, there is a button that says 'mark best answer', once you click that, it's marked and it pops to the top and your question has a ✅. 

Here's an example of the button 👇

I hope this helps! 

[Guy991 · Accepted solution]

Hello @MavEryck0 ,

Here are some additional ideas for you to consider:

1. Take the two rooms with a shared bathroom and create their own listing together for 4 people. This way, you can address more variations of hosting.

I would like to ensure you know how to link the different listings so you won't overbook.

2. STR Registration might be important for you, but I don't think it's as crucial for most guests. Certainly, don't mention it at the beginning of the description because you don't want to lose people's attention to legislation. When booking a hotel or Airbnb, do guests ask for approval of legal registration, proof of annual fire safety reports, and tax payments before booking? Abiding by the law is a must, and it's good that you're proud of it, but from a marketing aspect, I'm not so sure.

3. Congratulations on adding the patio set for outdoor seating. Is mentioning the exact date so important? What does it imply about everything else that you haven't mentioned their date?

4. The bedrooms will look much better if you add the same exact lamp on the other side of the bed for the sake of symmetry!

All the best,

[MavEryck0]

Great advice with a lot of detail..  I marked another answer as the best answer before reading yours. I guess Inshould have waited another minute or two and I wouldnuave marked yours as the best. 

Thanks

[MavEryck0]

I really like the idea of joining two of the rooms into their own listing. It might be nightmare to sync more calendars with the other platforms that I list on though...

[Guy991]

@MavEryck0 ,

I meant linking the listings within Airbnb to avoid overbooking. I didn't mean other platforms because I don't use them.

let me know if you need help with that.